When carrying out a brief wireless survey, possibly consisting of just a few readings, it is often desired that the monitoring operator be able to obtain a comprehensive area signal strength map of the received signal strengths from a particular wireless emitter over the entire target area of interest in a short time. In addition to the short available time within which to carry out the survey, certain terrain features may prevent the operator from measuring the signal strength at optimal positions in order to estimate the total area coverage and variations in signal strength. Features such as roads, bridges, buildings, private property, and terrain features such as lakes, rivers, hills, may restrict the operator from performing data collection in many locations. In the case where the collecting operator needs to know a complete profile of the target emitter's range and strength in a short time and with a restricted number of measurement points, it is desirable to produce a signal strength map of the entire area of interest that has been derived from a few measured points.
Many propagation loss formulas exist for the estimation of the wireless power level and given the transmitted power of the radio signal and the distance from the emitter to a specific location, it is possible to estimate the strength of the radio signal at that location. However, this estimate of the radio signal strength is affected by additional losses due to terrain features, obstructions, and multipath fading, all which may not be known. Additionally, in many cases, the accurate emitted strength of the radio signal and its precise location may not be known.
One case is where a user is interested in the various signal strengths from a particular emitter across an entire area. In order to plot the signal strengths the user can move within that area and measure the received signal strength at various locations. For example, the user may drive an automotive vehicle within the area, recording the signal strength periodically. When moving or considering moving to a particular location, the operator may wish to know, in advance, the expected signal strength of a particular wireless transmitter at that location such that the received signal strength is at a level that enables efficient monitoring. Current systems do not provide this information. In addition, displays do not provide information for an emitter for which the accurate location and emitter power may not be known. One example is when the wireless system to be monitored is based upon the IEEE 802.11 standards, commonly known as Wi-Fi, and the transmissions to be monitored are from a particular access point or station.